Man, Love Is Complicated!
by GWA
Summary: Josh is dating Kim, Tara is dating Ron, Kim and Ron are best friends and all is Chauncey ... until it becomes complicated. An AU story for Valentine's Day originally written by MrDrP and John Riehle. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: For personal reasons, MrDrP has recently seen fit to remove his original contribution to this story. As a result, I, johnrie18, will now be replacing the lost content of the first and third chapters of this story with new, never before seen or read content of my own!

As always, write a review, get a response. I am hoping to have the next chapter up before the weeks end. Thanks to all.

--

The loud sounds of the Fair reverberated into the sky, the fading sun off in the distance painting the heavens a deep crimson fire. Ron Stoppable remained steadfast outside the entrance way to the fairgrounds. Hundreds of couples, families, friends all walked past him, buying their tickets and going inside, as Ron stood anxiously, waiting.

"Ron!" The sound of his girlfriend brought Ron's spirits soaring. He felt his feet practically float off the ground as he followed the voice to its source. He couldn't keep his arms to himself as they wrapped around his girlfriend, pulling her in tight.

"Hey Tara." Ron leaned in, planting a quick kiss on her soft cheek. "And how is the most badical girlfriend on the planet doing this fine evening?"

Tara tried to suppress a deep blush as it burned across her cheek, which of course only had the affect of making it worse as she smiled back at Ron. Ron may not have been as romantic in the 'traditional sense' as she might have always wanted in a boyfriend, but just one look into those deep brown pools of his and she knew that there was nowhere else he would rather be than at her side. Even after three wonderful weeks together as a couple, she had to admit, it still made her heart flutter the way he always greeted her. "Better and better with every second. You ready?"

"Nah, got to wait for KP." Ron just shrugged as he smiled at her. "They're late. Again."

Tara didn't need another invitation as she leaned in, taking Ron in a deep kiss. "Oh darn. What will we do?"

"So not the drama." A familiar voice cut in from the side, prompting Ron and Tara to break up the smooch fest. "I see you two are trying to give Barkin another seizure with your blatant disregard for PDA policy."

"Please KP. You are so the hypocrite." Ron casually dismissed her accusations, eyeing Kim and her boyfriend with a knowing gaze. "You know, I think I heard some kids earlier complaining about some living bush that liked shake and moan." Narrowing his playful gaze, he looked at the two "You wouldn't know anything about that would you?"

"Ah, guilty." Josh Mankey admitted as he exchanged deep blushes with Kim. "We thought we'd have just a few more minutes before you two got here."

"For shame." Tara chided, knowing that she was every bit as guilty as she leaned back into Ron's chest, taking his arms and wrapping them around her.

"Well, guess we'd better get some tickets or else we're going to be out here all night." Kim added cheerful as she guided her BF towards the waiting lines. Ron and Tara quickly followed.

It didn't take long for the couple couples to start listing off the hundred and one different things that they wanted to do before the night ended.

"…cotton candy and I want to see the petting zoo." Tara admitted. "And-"

"The Disorienter!" Ron interrupted enthusiastically as he indicated to the enormous monstrosity waiting for them right at the front of the fair way. "Two hundred and twenty tons of death by extreme speeds." Ron's voice lowered as he admitted cautiously "They say no one has yet survived it."

"Amp down the drama Ron" Kim said, even as she stifled a chuckle before indicating to a few green faced patrons on wobbly legs moving weakly away from the aforementioned ride. "I think they qualify."

Ron watched as the group hurried over to a corner of a nearby tent and proceeded to throw up their meal of corn dogs and fairway French fries. "No they don't."

Tara felt her own stomach unsettle as she watched this gruesome display. "Ron, you may be my boyfriend, but there is no way I am going on that ride with you."

"Ah come on Tara, those guys are just lightweights." Ron tried his best to dismiss their synchronous vomiting even as Rufus popped out of his pocket and took the time to sigh at the pitiful sight.

"No. Thank. You." Tara really did hate to sound all girly on the matter, but she had come here for a fun, relaxing night with her boyfriend and that in no way meant loosing her dinner.

"Don't worry Ron. I'll go with you." Kim looked up at Josh expectantly "You coming?"

Josh did a double take on the group still trying to conceal their weak stomachs. "No thanks." He decided quickly. "I'll stay with Tara."

"Fair enough." Kim leaned in, planting a quick peck on his cheek. "Back in a flash."

"See you soon." Ron leaned in to plant a similar kiss on Tara before heading off, chasing after Kim as the two moved straight for the line leading up to the Disorientator.

--

Tara and Josh decided to treat themselves to some frozen chocolate covered bananas from a nearby vendor stand as they stayed within eye sight of the Disorientator.

"You know, I can't figure those two."

"How's that?" Tara asked as she bit into her frozen treat.

"Well, you've got a pair that goes around saving the world."

"Uh-huh."

"And from what Kim's told me, that's a pretty extreme way to pass the time."

Tara had to nod at this. She had heard more than a few horror stories of her own from Ron, and while she was pretty sure he embellished them, she had to admit that world saving and globe trotting was probably something she would never be able to get into herself.

"And yet, what do they do in their free time?" Josh went on.

Tara finished swallow the lump of banana and ice cream in her mouth before replying "Find the most extreme ride in the whole fair and go on it first thing?"

"Exactly. You'd think they'd want to unwind a little."

Tara just shrugged. "Ron's motto is 'Never be normal' and let me tell you, he commits to it."

Both had to laugh at that thought. The two took a second longer to share in their mutual moment before a sight off to their sides caused them both to flinch in synchronization.

"Oh." Josh had to wince at the sight. "I'm guessing Ron also decided to abandon his policy of only crackers and soda before extreme rides."

"Just tell me he didn't hit the…" Tara's hopes were dashed as her eyes fell upon the sight. "Yeah, he hit the clown."

--

"Still… totally… worth it." Ron admitted weakly as the ride attendant, with rolled eyes, let both him and Kim off the Disorientator.

"You just had to get off your 'diet', didn't you?" Kim looked at him with crossed arms.

"Cheese pizza with the Possibles, KP." Ron held onto his stomach as Rufus, similarly wobbly and disorientated, stuck out of Ron's pocket and fell to the floor. "I never miss it."

"Of course not." Kim rolled her eyes even as she picked up Rufus. "That would just break my dad's heart."

"Exactly." Ron chased after her, disregarding his sensitive stomach long enough to make his point. "I know how much it means to him. I don't want to break his poor heart."

"Oh please, you just can't resist cheese." Kim narrowed her smirking eyes upon his golden hair that seemed alight by the last vestiges of the setting sun. It was a sight that she forced herself past after a stunned second before remarking smartly "You'd eat cardboard as long as it was covered in cheese."

Ron looked about ready to retort when he caught himself. Lost in thought, he finally admitted aloud "Well, I did enjoy the cafeteria pizza on Tuesdays, so you got me there."

Somehow, Ron's comment hit Kim's funny bone squarely, causing her to burst out laughing. She looked at Ron again, catching him beaming with pride at the wittiness of his joke. The two smiled at each long and hard before Kim finally broke up the moment. "Come on ride boy, let's go find our dates."

--

Josh and Tara looked up to see Kim playfully swatting at Ron even as the slightly wobbly legged blonde made his way back into the waiting arms of his girlfriend.

"Everything ok?" Josh asked.

"He'll live." Kim walked up, kissing Josh squarely on the nose. "Though once again, we learn that cheese and extreme riding do not mix."

"Oh nag, nag, nag." Ron griped as he pulled Tara close to his chest. "You sound like my mother. Or a nagging old wife."

"I so do not." Kim bit back sharply at the 'old' comment, ignoring any mention of the word 'wife', even as it reverberated back and forth within Tara's mind.

"Oh really?" Ron teased back as he started walking down the fairground with his arm around Tara's shoulder. "Stop me when this sounds familiar." Ron paused for a split second before beginning again in an imitated higher tone of voice "'Ron Stoppable, stop clowning around. Ron Stoppable, this is mission time, stay focused."

"I have so never uttered the phrase 'mission time.'" Kim tried her best to sound indignant, even as she began giggling at Ron's impersonation, all the while she stood with Josh's arm around her shoulder, walking alongside Ron and Tara.

"'Ron Stoppable, don't you dare provoke that rabid ostrich." Ron went on, ignoring Kim's remark. "'Ron Stoppable, stop tearing open a whole in reality.'"

"Did he actually do that?" Josh looked down at Kim.

"Once." Kim admitted, fumingly. "And I did not sound like that."

"You tore open reality?" Tara asked Ron, more than a little concerned.

"Hey, in my defense, with all the times people steal the Pans Dimensional Vortex Inducer, you would think that the people who make it could at least leave some safety instructions on the side."

Kim and Ron shared a laugh at this. But without any prior knowledge of what the two were talking about, Josh and Tara were left out in the cold.

However, Tara's mind was drifting off anyway to thoughts of an off-hand comment made earlier. The notion of Kim as Ron's older, nagging wife somehow had disquieted her. Tara knew that it was still far too early to be thinking of such things but still, for reasons that she couldn't quite articulate, the matter left her to brood on troublingly.

--

The evening went on for several hours longer before eventually, the couples said their goodbyes.

On the front steps of the Possible home, one such goodbye was going on at that very moment.

"Thanks for a great evening." Kim leaned in for a quick kiss on the lips as her arms remained wrapped around her utterly gorgeous boyfriend. With the full moon over head, Kim couldn't help but to glow even brighter than the stars.

"My pleasure." Josh could feel his innards melt at the radiant redhead staring at him. He had to admit, as much fun as it had been to double date, he was enjoying this moment alone with Kim far, far more. "And I hope you will be there tomorrow for my showing at the Middleton Gallery."

"Totally. As if I'd miss."

This brought a wide smile to Josh Mankey. The thought of having Kim to himself for a whole afternoon was a prospect that Josh had been looking forward to all week. It wasn't that he didn't like Ron or Tara, but ever since both Ron and Kim had hooked up with someone else, the two still liked to double date. While Josh had to admit that he still enjoyed such occasions, he also had been eager to get Kim alone. The idea of her holding his hand while he showed off his latest works, a few of which he'd yet to even show to Kim, to some of the most critical eyes of Upperton's School of Arts was just so perfect.

--

"I'm really sorry Ron." Tara looked crestfallen as she stood on her doorstep. She'd been holding in this confession all night, hoping not to ruin such a wonderful evening. But she couldn't put it off any longer.

"It's ok." He admitted somewhat half-truthfully.

"No it's not. It's your birthday." Tara had hoped that Ron might actually get all jealous or upset. Somehow, that he seemed to be taking this so well seemed to make her feel all the guiltier.

"Yeah, but it's your aunt." Ron smiled back at her, staring into those deep blue eyes as her perfect blonde hair hung from her sides. If Ron had to, he would never have guessed that he'd ever score such a smoking hot girlfriend. Even now, he still couldn't help but feel like the luckiest guy in the world.

"It's my aunt Eleanor and I just… I haven't seen her in so long." Tara knew that she had already explained all this already, but she still felt bad about it. "She's only going to be up in Go City for the weekend, and my whole family is going up there and…"

"Tara, Tara," Ron interrupted, grabbing her hands as he leaned, placing a gentle kiss on her lips. "It's cool, really. You know, Rufus and I can chill for a weekend, catch up on some comics while you're with your aunt. It's no big."

"It feels big to me." Tara let out a long smile.

"I'll be here when you get back." Ron returned the smile. "It'll be fine."

--

"This tanks." Ron lamented into the phone as he lay in bed, trying to read his favorite issue of Fearless Ferret. He managed to skim through only the first few pages before throwing the comic aside in frustration.

"I'm really sorry Ron." Kim answered back as she lay in her own bed, her Pandaroo clutched safely in her arms. "I know she even had a new dress picked out."

"Dress?" Ron perked up at this. "Dress? What dress?"

Kim threw her free hand over her lips, cursing her carelessness. She had promised to keep Tara's dress a surprise. It was supposed to be part of her gift to Ron. "Nothing."

"What? You know something about a dress." Ron shot quickly into the phone. "What about a dress? Does Tara have a new dress?"

"Ron, I'm not supposed to tell you." Kim confessed guiltily. "I promised."

"So she does have a new dress!" Ron's eyes shot wide. "Tell me about it. Is it hot?"

"It's smoking." Kim admitted. "I helped her pick it out. She wanted to surprise you with it at your party. But you can totally not tell her that I told you about it."

"Wow." Ron leaned back in his bed. Even though he knew almost nothing about it, he could just imagine his smoking hot girlfriend showing up in a smoking hot dress, and all for him. "Heh, it's just not going to be the same without her."

"Relax Ron. I'm sure if nothing else, she'll wear it to the Spring Fling Dance."

"Yeah, it's just… well it's my birthday!" Ron whined into the phone. "I mean, I'm trying not to be a bad boyfriend about this, but this still totally tanks."

"Ron, you're an awesome boyfriend." Kim assured warmly into the phone. "Anyone who asks Tara knows that she feels the same way."

"Really?"

"Totally." Kim smiled. "I'll hang out with you this weekend for your birthday."

"Heh, thanks KP." Ron couldn't help but to smile at the thought of it. "You're… you're kinda totally awesome, you know?"

"So not the drama." Kim smiled. "We're best friends."

--

"You can't be serious." Kim looked at Josh, practically horrified.

"I'm sorry. But there was some kind of mess up with scheduling and now the Gallery is holding my exhibit tomorrow." Josh confessed as he and Kim made their way through the school cafeteria. The lunch line seemed like far too crowded a venue to be having this particular discussion but now that it had been brought up, there was no sense in avoiding it further.

"Josh, I can't make it on Saturday." Kim confessed in a tight whisper so as not to attract undue attention to the two of them. "Ron's birthday is Saturday and I already promised him I'd be there."

"But you promised you'd make it to the gallery." Josh pleaded.

"That was before you changed the date on me." Kim bit back.

"It wasn't me." Josh insisted defensively. "And besides, why can't you miss Ron's birthday this once. Or at least catch up with him on Sunday instead."

"Josh Mankey," Josh's innards began to constrict at Kim's no-nonsense tone. "I have not missed Ron's birthday since I was five. I am not going to start now because your gallery opening changed at the last second. And it is so not fair of you to ask."

"I… I'm sorry. I know." Josh admitted, defeated. He had known this was an argument that he wasn't going to win, but still, he'd had been hopeful. "I just really wanted you to be there."

"I'm sorry too." Kim's voice fell with Josh even as the two found an open table to sit at. "I really did want to make it."

"Hey guys." Ron's voice drew away Kim's attention, and as it did, Josh felt his heart tighten at the sight.

"How's it going?" Tara asked as she sat down next to Ron, opposite Kim and Josh.

"It's cool." Kim insisted weakly.

"We're fine." Josh agreed in the same pitiful tone.

"They're having problems." Ron whispered to Tara loud enough for all to hear.

"Ron!" Luckily, Ron was saved from Kim's true wrath by the tell-tale chimes of the Kimmunicator. Drawing it out, Kim looked down with her all-business tone "Go Wade."

"Hey guys." Team Possible's resident tech support appeared on the screen. "'Fraid I got a hit on the site.

"Super villain?" Josh guessed.

"Nation in trouble." Tara guessed.

"Monkeys." Ron let out with a groan.

"Uh, yeah. How did you know?" Wade asked.

"Just a guess." Ron sighed, as he sank in his seat. It was always monkeys. Why this was so, he never knew, but it just was.

"What's the sitch?" Kim asked, ignoring the playful banter of those around her.

"It looks like Monkey Fist is after the Codex Simius Rex." Wade double checked the information on the computer screen in front of him. "It's a book that supposedly details the end of the world. It actually provides step by step instructions."

"Huh. So after all this time trying to destroy the world, Monkey Fist has finally decided to just read the manual. No wonder all his other plans never worked." Ron mused aloud, causing Kim to laugh heartily at his comment before looking back down to Wade.

"Ride?"

"On its way, courtesy of Global Justice." Wade replied with an all too proud smile. "They should be there right about… now."

Wade's comment was punctuated by the familiar hum of a GJ hover jet as it touched down over the Middleton football field, drawing the attention of more than a few students.

"Wow. They make good time." Tara noted.

"You have no idea." Ron smiled as he leaned in, planting a much needed kiss on Tara's cheeks. "I'll catch you later."

"I got to run." Kim explained in much the same hurried fashion as she leaned over to Josh. "I'm sorry. I promise I'll call you later tonight."

"That's fine." Josh smiled. "Be careful."

"You too." Tara insisted as she spoke to Ron.

"Please." Ron just waved off her concerns. "The Ron man is batting close to a thousand."

"Come on, 'all star." Kim joked, drawing a smirk from Ron as he chased after her.

This left Tara and Josh to stare as the two walked away, sitting in silence.

"Do you ever wonder about those two?"

"What do you mean?" Tara asked, glancing suspiciously back at Josh.

"Well I mean, just… well think about everything that they've been through together."

"It's a lot." Tara admitted as she worked on her fries, devouring them lazily.

"It's more than just a lot." Josh insisted anxiously. "When was the last time you were in a life and death situation with Ron?"

Tara paused a moment to think about the matter. "Not since Wannaweep. But it was so amazing." Tara seemed to rise up from the cafeteria lunch table to be swept by the wind as she drifted back to that moment. "Ron was so brave there. It was unreal."

"I've never been in that situation with Kim." Josh said as his mind began to drift back as well. "In fact, aside from some weirdness on our first date, I don't think I've ever come close. Meanwhile, those two go on that kind of thing… well just about every other day."

Tara's eyes began to narrow as they cast a suspicious glance at Josh. "Did you and Kim have a fight?"

"She's missing my gallery opening this weekend." Josh admitted. "But that's not what this is about. Well, at least it's not just what this is about."

"Uh-huh." Tara drew a knowing look at him.

"They spend more time with each other than they do with either of us." Josh argued, determined not to be dismissed as merely an overly jealous boyfriend speaking.

"Well… yeah." Tara admitted reluctantly. "But they've known each other a lot longer than they have us. Face it, we're still the newcomers."

"And that's my point." Josh went on, taking great care to choose his next words carefully. "You ever get the feeling like we maybe we're the odds ones in the middle? Like maybe we interrupted something special."

"What?" Tara looked at him incredulously. "No. Look, I'm sorry Kim is missing your Gallery, but just chill ok. It's not that big a deal, and I'm sure if you play up the guilt angle, you can get her to make it up to you. I for one am totally happy with my boyfriend, and I am not walking away from him for anything."

"Whoa, whoa." Josh held up his hands defensively. "I didn't say anything about walking away from anything. It's just… well, Kim had a choice between her best friend and her boyfriend and… sometimes that makes me wonder."


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: The time of prophecy is at hand. The era forseen by sages declared mad has finally arrived. The fourth season of Kim Possible is actually here! Rejoice, for these are the good times.

As for our humble little fic here, hope you enjoy. Leave a review and get a response.

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**Chapter 2 by johnrie18**

Josh Mankey double-checked his watch as he waited anxiously in the Middleton High School parking lot. The sun had just cracked the tree line around the school and a mild breeze blew through as the young artist did yet another take of the parking lot for some sign of his girlfriend, hoping against hope that she might show up just a few seconds earlier.

For reasons that he couldn't explain, he was feeling jittery. He found his hands fiddling with themselves as an unease that he couldn't quite explain seemed to have overtaken him. He'd been feeling this way ever since he woke up this morning and he couldn't figure out why. There was nothing to worry about. He was just meeting his girlfriend a few minutes early before school so the two of them could catch up over the weekend. That was all. Just hanging out a few minutes before school with his girlfriend. No big deal.

"Hey Josh." Kim actually caught him completely off guard as she leaned in from behind, planting a light kiss on his cheek. The startled blond actually jumped a little in his place, anxiously catching Kim's confused glare. "Are you alright?"

"Huh? Oh yeah." Josh rubbed the back of his neck anxiously. What the hell was wrong? It was just Kim. It was just the two of them hanging out alone. Finally, alone. "So, how was your weekend?"

"Oh my gosh Josh, you should have been at Ron's birthday." Kim was oblivious to the cringe that found its way across his face as she drifted back in time by two days. "You remember those rockets that the tweebs had been experimenting with that I told you about? Well I guess they finally got bored with them so they actually attached them to Ron's moped for his birthday present. His bike can actually go faster than most trains!"

"Oh." Josh tried to sound interested, if only for politeness' sake, even as he anxiously waited for his chance to tell her all about his art exhibit. "Really?"

"It was unreal." Kim's pace of a mile-a-minute never slowed once. "We took it out for a test ride and Rufus hit the rockets and we must have done at least a hundred and fifty. The cops actually tried to pull us over but we couldn't stop and we actually led them out onto the interstate before we finally managed to shut the rockets off."

"Uh, wow." Josh managed to force out a response. "I hope the cops don't revoke your guys' world-saving privileges for that."

Josh's hopeful wish passed right through Kim as she dismissed with a wave of the hand "Oh no. We had to call in a favor and Ron got off with a warning. It was no big, but man, that thing goes really fast. And he handled it really well, too! You'd never think he could have had troubles with the Disorienter after the way he could swerve that thing through traffic." A slightly girly laugh escaped Kim's lips, and for some reason, seemed to apply pressure to Josh's chest, causing his beating heart to thunder within his chest.

"Well, I guess I know how your weekend went." Josh forced a smile. "As for min…"

"INCOMING!"

That nameless fear that Josh Mankey couldn't identify within his stomach suddenly came screaming in to the Middleton High School parking lot on a jet-propelled moped with a screeching blonde cheerleader clinging to his waist. Kim quickly grabbed Josh and pulled him out of the way as the moped shot past them both.

Ron grabbed hard on the handles and brought it to a screeching stop, just precious inches from the teachers' parking, leaving a definite tread mark across the lot.

"One small step for man, one huge ride for Ronkind!" the blond exclaimed even as he anxiously leapt off his 'new' ride in triumph. Tara, on the other hand, seemed a little wobbly as her unsteady legs tried to lift her off of Ron's bike.

"I should have stuck with the Disorenter," Tara affirmed uneasily, her face looking just a hint of green as Ron rushed to her side to catch her.

"Ooh, sorry Tara. Maybe a little much on the afterburners, huh?" Ron apologized as he saw the sickly look on his girlfriend's face. He'd been so anxious to show off to his girlfriend that he had practically forced her onto it. Seeing her reaction drew an unexpected pang of guilt. He'd wanted to impress her, not make her lose her breakfast. It wasn't that he didn't fully appreciate the speed of his new ride, or the effect that traveling at that speed could have one's tummy, it was just… well KP hadn't had any problems yesterday on it.

"That's ok Ron." Tara insisted weakly, even as she struggled to regain her composure in front of her caring boyfriend. "But next time, why don't we take my car to school?"

"I think the police would appreciate that too." Kim joked as she pulled Josh up from the ground, walking over to the pair.

"Oh, please. Your jealousy is way obvious, KP. I mean sure, we fly around on hypersonic vehicles all the time, but do you have one parked in your own garage?" Ron asked proudly.

"Well, not since Christmas…" Kim admitted.

"Exactly. Who's the one with the hot ride now?" Ron pressed on in triumph.

"Unless you plan to go to the Spring Fling dance all alone, me!" Tara announced in authority, now that her stomach had finally stopped shaking.

Ron, sensing that this was not the opportunity to press his luck, deflated slightly. "I guess I can survive mooching rides off my smoking hot girlfriend for a while."

"Take it from me Ron; it's not a bad way to get around." Josh interjected even as he placed his arm around Kim's shoulder, causing the red head to smile at him warmly, briefly alleviating his unease.

The school bell cut their brief moment short. Josh looked down at his watch, disheartened to see just how fast time had really flown by.

"Guess we better get going." Kim laid a small kiss on her boyfriend's cheek as the four made their way inside

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Josh Mankey poked uneasily at the pile of mystery meat in front of him as he sat in the school cafeteria. He was fairly certain that the sudden movement he had seen from his lunch when he had poked it a few seconds prior was just an optical illusion, but there was no point in taking unnecessary chances.

"I've been such a horrible GF."

Kim Possible's voice brought Josh up from his probing and prodding, leaving the unnatural grey of the mystery meat behind for the brilliant emerald of her guilty eyes.

"Sorry?"

"Your gallery exhibit. We were talking this morning and I never even got the chance to ask you how it went!" Kim's face pleaded for forgiveness as she sat down next to Josh.

"Oh." Josh let out a breath he hadn't even been aware he'd been holding in since this morning as he tried to play it off. "No big deal."

"It is a big deal. So come on, how did it go?" She asked eagerly as she gave Josh her undivided attention.

"Pretty great actually. There was a professor from Upperton there who gave me his card. He told me about this art scholarship the school is offering and said if I wanted to submit some of my work, I'd have a really solid chance of getting it."

"Josh, that's amazing." Kim's eyes went wide with pride before softening slightly. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there for it."

"Yeah me too, though I suppose, since you're feeling bad about it, I could come up with some way for you to make it up to me." Josh replied in his slickest voice.

"Oh really." Kim's eyebrow rose suggestively at the implication. "Do tell."

"Hey y'all. You kids behaving over here?" Josh Mankey watched in slight despair as what attention Kim was giving him immediately redirected itself towards Ron Stoppable. Why did Ron suddenly bother him so much? Or was it not so much Ron as it was the attention Kim gave him?

"Relax, Ron, no PDA going on over here, yet." Kim then quickly leaned over, gently grabbing Josh's chin and then pulling his lips to her own. The sudden stiffness in Josh's lips quickly melted away before Kim's sensual touch.

Ron casually smiled as he sat down, looking down dishearteningly at his own pile of mystery meat, paying the young couple across from him no mind.

"Hey Ron." Tara leaned, giving him a light peck on the cheek before turning to the young couple across from them. "Whoa. Did I miss something?"

"Well, normally I'd guess that Josh got cheese on his lips again, but the cafeteria lady has yet again sacrificed the glory of cheese pizza for the horror of mystery meat, so my guess is long weekend apart." Ron speculated, even as Rufus leapt out of his pocket in search of food. The tiny rodent made his way to the pile of mystery meat on Ron's plate, then leapt back in terror when it appeared to twitch slightly as he sniffed at it.

"Whoa." Josh drew back in surprise, an awed expression frozen into his face. "Was that cause you owed me?"

"No, that was cause I missed you." Kim smiled at him. "I'll get back to you about how I plan to make it up to you."

"I wouldn't hold your breath though, dude." Ron warned playfully. "When we were in elementary school, I jinxed KP and she has yet to pay up on that soda she owes."

"Oh please. Should I even bother counting all the ones you owe me?" Kim looked back at Ron with a playful look of challenge.

"Ha. I'd like to see even the great Kim Possible try and count that high." Ron joked, eliciting a shared laugh between him and Kim. As they did, for one imperceptible moment, an uncertain look passed between Tara and Josh.

The familiar chime of the Kimmunicator cut in, as Kim quickly drew the small device from her pocket. "Go Wade."

"Hey guys. Hit on the website." Team Possible's resident super genius declared quickly.

"Anything to save us from mystery meat," Ron decided hopefully as he poked at his lunch.

"Cancelled cheese pizza lunch again?" Wade asked.

"Once again, my glorious dreams of cheese choke and die beneath an avalanche of mystery meat." Ron mourned aloud.

"Yuck. Meat." Rufus spit even as Tara petted him consolingly.

"Sorry to ruin your mystery meat, but you are never going to guess who's trying to prop a death ray on top of the Eiffel Tower." Wade interjected.

"Hmm, death ray on top of the Eiffel Tower." Ron pondered aloud. "I'm going to go with Drakken on this one."

"No way. This totally sounds like Dementor." Kim replied back.

"Actually, Ron guessed it. Drakken and Shego." Wade informed the duo.

"Ha. There's another soda you owe me. I'm going to have to start running a tab for you, KP."

"Fine, so that's two I owe you and more than exist in the state of Colorado that you owe me." Kim joked in defense.

This quieted Ron into some thought. "You know, I know it's big of me but I think I'll just forgive your tab and call it even."

At this, Kim couldn't help to spit out in laughter as she flicked a sample of mystery meat at Ron. The blond haired sidekick's well-tuned instincts allowed him to dodge the food attack, whereupon he quickly retaliated with a battery of mystery meat all his own.

"Guys," Wade tried to interject over the chunks of meat that went flying.

Kim and Ron couldn't hear over their own laughter.

"Uhh, guys." Tara tried to get their attention.

Still no luck.

"Guys." Josh spoke in.

Only further laughter and blots of flying meat responded.

"GUYS." The three finally shouted in unison, finally get Kim and Ron to come to their senses.

"Paris." Josh reminded.

"Save the world." Tara went on.

"Oh." Ron began.

"Right." Kim concluded. "Our ride?"

"There in two minutes. I've already cleared it with your teachers."

"Thanks Wade. You rock." Kim turned off her Kimmunicator before turning to Josh. "Sorry, gotta jet. Hero thing." She insisted apologetically as she leaned in and planted another kiss on Josh.

"Gotta run." Ron gave a similar kiss that tingled on Tara's lips for a second longer. "I'll bring you back something cool."

"Forget that. Take me with you." Tara almost pleaded, managing only just to catch herself. "I mean I've never been to Paris. I want to see what it's like."

"It's nice." Ron replied, oblivious to the slight desperation in Tara's voice. "Thing is, the French Fries really aren't that great. They taste like they're more from Paris than France."

"Ron, Paris is in France." Kim informed plainly.

"That's what makes the whole thing so weird!" Ron exclaimed frantically even as Kim led him outside.

For a long moment, neither Tara nor Josh said anything. Then, finally building up the courage, Josh gave Tara a knowing look.

"What?"

"You know what." Josh's eyes dug deep into the blonde cheerleader to the point where she refused to look at them any longer.

"Look, if you're still upset about this weekend and you want some alone time with Kim, I'll distract Ron for you, but leave me and Ron alone." Tara crossed her arms as she attempted to shrink back in her seat defiantly.

"Where we even here just now?" Josh could see the confusion in Tara's face so he went on. "Before you and Ron sat down, Kim and I had the mother of all kisses. And then as soon as Ron walks in, the two of them are laughing up a storm and I don't think either of us got a word in edgewise."

"It happens sometimes," Tara admitted uncomfortably.

"It's happening a lot." Josh drove his point onwards. "Tell me that Ron has never run out in the middle of a date with you to go on some mission with Kim."

Tara fidgeted anxiously at the question. "Well… that's mission stuff. I mean, as long as Middleton doesn't get nuked, I can stand having a date or two ending early. And it's not like we didn't _both_ know it would be like that, either." Tara shot a slightly defiant glare back at Josh that warned the young artist to drop the subject soon.

"You know it's more than that." Josh didn't let up for a moment as he collected himself. "Stop me if this sounds familiar. The two of you hang out, you have a good time, you laugh, you touch, you even kiss. And then you see them with the other and you see what a good time they have, how they laugh, how they touch, and you catch yourself wondering when they're going to kiss and what that's going to look like."

"Shut up." Tara whispered.

"You tell yourself 'they're just friends. They always have been and they always will be.'" Josh continued, gaining momentum as he spoke. "But every time you catch them together, there's that little something that they only share with each other that they don't share with anyone else. Call it whatever you want, history, something that comes with saving each other's lives every day, whatever it is, they've got it, and you don't and you never will."

"I said leave it alone." Tara's hand seemed to make its way to her eye, wiping a tiny puddle collecting beneath her eyelid.

"They've got something. Maybe they just can't see it yet or maybe it's been there so long that they don't notice it, but it's there and it's as obvious as daylight to everyone else who looks at them for longer than five minutes. Right now, there's just one thing stopping them."

"I said shut up!" Tara finally slammed down on the lunch table as she got up and stormed off. For a moment, Josh paused to see if anyone else had noticed her outburst, but when it seemed all clear, he immediately took off after her.

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Tara stood in front of her locker, looking at a picture she had taped to the inside of the door of her and Ron together. She looked fondly at the photographic capture of her in his arms, his expression one of usual goofiness and delight, while her face was smothered in sheer warmth and contentment. She tried to swallow back down the lump that persisted in her throat as she found herself once again trying to wipe clean her eyes.

"This wouldn't be bothering you if you didn't know I'm right," Josh said softly from behind her. Tara never bothered to look back at him, instead focusing on her right ring finger, her mind clinging to unheard vows being recited as the priest announced the union of Mr. and Mrs. Ron Stoppable.

"Fine." She finally answered back in a whisper. "What do you have in mind?"

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Author's Note: Stay with us, things are really about to pick up.


	3. Chapter 4

Author's Note: A special thanks to MrDrP who helped make this story what it is and who's assitance in this last chapter particularly was invaluable.

Thanks to all those who have read and reviewed. As always, leave a review, get a response.

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**Chapter 4 by johnrie18**

It was dark by the time Josh Mankey had finally built up the courage to call Kim Possible and suggest that she meet him outside the mall. Now he found himself anxiously pacing back and forth in the shadows, the light of the full moon feeling like that of a search light upon a guilty fugitive as Josh tried to withdraw from it.

He tried to go through his rehearsed 'speech' again. This had to be right. This had to go perfectly. If Kim and Ron suspected that they were being forced together, it would only serve to drive them further apart. That much had already been made painfully clear.

"Hey, handsome." A flawless voice escaped from perfectly flawless full lips. Josh turned to see a flawless mane of crimson hair flowing down a flawlessly smooth face, with two flawless emerald eyes completely the flawless ensemble. It tightened Josh's breathing considerably.

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Tara King had been a little surprised that Ron Stoppable had called to meet her a few minutes early of their date. The tone in his voice had made it sound quite urgent, and it had left Tara feeling jittery.

_Do you really care about him? Or do you care about some dream?_

Josh's stupid rhetorical question echoed over in her nervous mind, causing her feet to begin taping on the ground beneath her. She contemplated just heading inside Bueno Nacho and meeting Ron at their usual booth. But the full moon and unusual warm breeze that accompanied the evening was just too wonderful to waste inside.

Besides which, Tara didn't feel like sitting. Her legs would simply not allow it.

"Hey gorgeous." A gentle voice came from behind. Tara practically spun around to see a warm face staring back at her, caring eyes gazing deeply into her own and an always friendly smile greeting her just as it always did.

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"So you ready to go?" Kim asked with an excited smile as she flashed a pair of matching tickets. "Smash Mouth awaits."

"Listen Kim, there's something I wanted to talk about. It has something to do with what we were talking about earlier." Josh began uneasily.

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"So, Bueno Nacho?" Tara motioned inside invitingly. "We've got plenty of time before the movie."

"In a minute. There's something I wanted to talk to you about. It's about what you said earlier today… about me and KP." Ron seemed overly anxious as he spoke.

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"Kim, about what I said about you and Ron." He noted the rising apprehension in her expression and quickly hurried. "I didn't mean it. I guess, it's just sometimes, I see the way you two are and I get over paranoid. Maybe it's a guy thing, but the point is, it was out of line. I didn't mean anything by it."

Oh boy. Now he was in it. He was lying. He was lying to Kim Possible. He was lying to a world saving super hero who routinely faced down some of the most dangerous men on earth and never even flinched. There were so many ways that this could end badly. If Kim ever believed that her boyfriend had dumped her because of her best friend, she'd resent Ron for it for sure. It might even be the final straw, on top of everything else he had said and done, that could drive them apart forever.

"No big." Kim assured with a relaxed expression. "Truthfully, it's kinda nice to have a boyfriend who gets jealous from time to time, just so long as you don't make a regular thing out of it." She warned playfully.

"No, it's not going to be a regular thing Kim, because I don't think we should date anymore." And with that, Josh Mankey felt the knife in his hand stab right through the back of Kim's heart and pierce his own.

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"Look Tara, I thought a lot about what you said about KP and me." Tara felt very apprehensive as the tone of Ron's voice. It was so soft, so… serious. She had never heard him talk like this before. "It's just that KP and I are tight, we always have been. For a while, I didn't think there could ever be anyone else in my life but her."

Tara felt her lower lip tremble. She suddenly realized what was going on. He was breaking up with her! After all of Josh's stupid talk about them taking action, Ron had realized the truth all on his own. He was going to give her the dreaded speech, how they should stay friends, about she would find someone better for her than him. About how he would always care for her, even if not in that way.

"I understand." Tara answered softly as she shrunk away from her eyes. "She's a really great person. You're lucky to have someone like her."

"True, but she's not the only special person in my life, and I need to start waking up to that." For the first time, Tara noticed that Ron's arms had been anxiously held behind his back. As he spoke, Ron produced from behind himself a small wrapped present that he handed to her.

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"W-what?" Kim's eyes went wide with a deep hurt that mirrored Josh's own. "You're breaking up with me? I don't… I don't understand."

"It's just us Kim. We're not working anymore. It's not any one thing; it's a lot of little things." Josh felt like he was seconds away from recoiling in nausea at the sound of his own words, yet he pressed on. "You're an amazing person Kim, probably the most amazing I'll ever know. I really do wish you were the girl for me, but you're not. And I have to live with that."

The truth of those last words gave Josh the little bits of courage he needed to finish this.

"I'll always care for you Kim, but I have to face facts. We're just not meant to be. I'm so sorry."

Josh could see tears welting up in those flawless eyes, her flawless lips trembling with ache from his every word. It tore him up. He wanted to take it back. '_I'm sorry; I don't know what came over me just now. I didn't mean it. I'm sorry Kim; please take me back, please!'_

Instead, he turned away and walked home.

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Tara's breath was caught, her chest felt like a vice as she eyed the simply wrapped package in Ron's hand. "Ron… what's… what is that?"

"For you." He explained simply as he handed her the present. For a long moment, Tara considered refusing it. Going through with what she had uneasily decided on and breaking things off.

Instead, her shaking fingers reached out for the gift, taking the wrapping paper in her hands and slowly, gently removing it. The wrapping paper shed away to reveal a simple brown cardboard box. Growing more curious with each passing second, Tara tore away at the box's top, only to find within a small, brown furred teddy bear with a rose red ribbon tied in a bow around its neck. It was almost exactly identical to the one five year old Tara had lost years ago when her parents had first moved her to Middleton, Colorado.

The bear in question was a Sir Huggington, a line of stuffed toy that was released almost at the exact same time as the Cuddle Buddies, and shortly thereafter discontinued as a result of the competition. Tara had never been able to locate her long lost stuffed friend and no store carried one to replace it… until now.

Tara couldn't speak, she couldn't breath. She just looked up, wide eyed at Ron.

"Had Wade track it down for me. Turns out there's a whole warehouse full of these little guys in California. The guy who still legally owns the inventory was happy to send me one. Hope you like him." He replied with a slight nervousness.

Tara's response was immediate. She grabbed Ron by the shoulders and pulled him in for the deepest, most passionate kiss the two had ever shared. Ron returned the kiss with the same passion, never noticing the tears of pure bliss that leaked down the side of Tara's face.

Their blissful moment was interrupted as Ron's cell phone rang from within his pocket. Tara pressed her lips even more into Ron's, desperate to keep him in this perfect second of time.

When the phone refused to heed her prayers, Ron pulled back for a second as his hand reached into his pocket to answer. Tara's lips never parted more than a centimeter from his, their eyes locking intently, as he breathlessly whispered into the phone "Hello?"

Tara closed her eyes. She knew who was on the other end of that phone line and she knew what they were calling about.

"What?" Ron's voice rose with a mixture of concern and outrage. Tara placed her one spare arm around Ron's neck as he spoke, even while the other clung tightly to her new present. "Are you ok?" A few more seconds of silence. "Well where are you now?" And then "Ok, hang on KP. I'm coming right over."

Ron quickly pocketed his phone as he looked down to Tara who looked back at him. "Tara, listen, I've got to run. KP…"

Ron was silenced as Tara pressed her lips to his. "It's ok. Just go. Spend as much time as you feel you need to with Kim. Take as long as you want. I'll be here when you're done. I'll wait however long it takes, I love you Ron."

Ron's eyes went wide. "Y-you love me?" He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was crazy about Tara and he knew that she liked liked him, but to use the 'L' word!

"Yes. I love you." Tara pressed her lips into his one more time before finally drawing back, stepping away from him as she clutched her new present all the more tightly. "Now go take care of Kim. I'll be fine."

Ron didn't know what to say. This was huge. Even he was bright enough to realize that. He knew he should say something. Yet the sound of Kim sobbing echoed in his mind's ears and tore him in opposite directions, until finally his feet took him moving.

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Tara lay on her bed, her head propped up on her pillows, absently stroking the teddy bear in hand, her gaze never once leaving it. She didn't even flinch when she heard the knock on the front door of her house, she never bothered to give a second thought to the footsteps that she traced from the door to her room's door and she never bothered to look up to acknowledge the frosty blonde as he entered her room.

"Hey."

"Hey." She answered softly as she continued to gaze at the bear, stroking it tenderly.

"Well… I did it." Josh admitted guiltily even as he slumped into Tara's desk chair. "I just walked away from the most amazing girl I'll ever know."

For a minute, Tara didn't answer. She just continued stroking and staring at the teddy bear in her hands. Finally, in a soft, determined, unchallengeable tone of voice, she stated firmly "I'm not breaking up with him."

"What?" Josh tensed in his seat as he looked at her incredulously.

"I'm not breaking up with Ron." Tara reaffirmed, her voice never rising for an instant, her attention still remaining solely focused on the Sir Huggington in her lap. "If you want Kim back, I'll talk to her for you. If you tell me to, I won't rest until the two of you are back together, but I'm not leaving Ron."

"What are you talking about?" Josh's voice grew in anger. "I thought we agreed…"

"NO, we agreed about nothing!" Tara shouted in pure rage at this filthy, evil outsider trying to take her Ron from her as she looked up to him with a glare that threatened to damn him for eternity. "You were the one having problems with your girlfriend and started spouting off dumb theories about how we should both break up with our boyfriends and girlfriends so that they can be together! You were the one who was unhappy in your relationship and decided you just couldn't be miserable alone so you had to drag me down with you! Well the hell with you!"

Josh shriveled back into his seat in terror before the blonde fury in front of him. Tara didn't let up for a moment.

"Ron makes me happy, he makes me smile. He cares about me and I love him! Why the hell am I going to break up with him just because Kim misses one of your art exhibits? What right do you think you have to just barge into people's lives and tell them how to live and who they can and can't be with?"

"Tara," Josh managed to get out meekly "this is for them. We can't be selfish about…"

"SELFISH!" Tara's anger tripled. "So now I'm a bad person for wanting to be happy? I'm a bad person for being with someone I love, someone who I want to spend the rest of my life with?"

Josh was frozen in his place by Tara's words.

"That's right, I said it! I want to go the Spring Fling with Ron, I want him to finally meet my parents, I want to go to the Prom with him, to date him through college, and if he doesn't ask me first then I'll ask him, but so help me I want to marry him!"

What remained of Josh's innards finally shriveled away. "Tara…"

"Shut up! Just shut up and get out! Get out!" Tara didn't say anything else as she fell into her pillow, an occasional sob or two escaping. Josh didn't say anything either. Instead, for what seemed like an eternity, he felt frozen into his seat.

Finally, slowly, quietly, Josh got up and left Tara to her thoughts.

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It was late into the evening as Tara lay in her bed, her body and mind exhausted, yet sleep eluded her. She tossed and turned, never once having relinquished hold on her Sir Huggington, as her mind wandered.

Ron.

He was every where in her thoughts. The sound of his laugh, the feel of his warm arms around her, the note of concern in his voice whenever something was wrong with her. He was brave, caring, goofy, and funny and she loved him. She knew that.

Josh.

No good, jealous, controlling wannabe artist. Who was he to tell her who she could and couldn't love? Dump Ron? And then what? Go back to dating all those moronic jocks that Bonnie had always tried setting her up with in the past?

Kim.

Ok, so Kim and Ron had been friends since forever. That was fine. In fact, it had been really helpful. Tara had been a little weirded out by certain aspects of Ron's personality when they had first started dating. Luckily, Kim had been there to help Tara through them, to show her the wonderful, loving person that Ron was underneath.

So the two of them were best friends. Fine. Tara had other friends outside of Ron, why shouldn't it be the same for him. That didn't mean that Ron and her couldn't be happy together. So what if Kim and Ron always laughed together… always. And maybe there was something a little more than just friendship between them. After all, they had known each other since before kindergarten, it only made sense that they would be really close after all that time.

Tara's thoughts tried to find its way back to images of her and Ron together, but every time it did, her mind would eventually drift and in every one of her wonderful scenarios, it was Kim basking in Ron's warm embrace instead of Tara.

_No._ She loved Ron. He always put her ahead of himself, always was there for her whenever she really needed him. His devotion was beyond question, she'd never once caught him even looking at another girl, other than Kim (they were just friends!). And no one else laughed like they laughed… except for when he was with … (it didn't mean anything!)

Tara turned in frustration as she clung to her Sir Huggington. Ron was amazing. She loved him. She had said so.

So he hadn't said the words back himself. She could wait. She'd wait a lifetime to hear them if that was what it took. He'd only run out to take care of…Kim.

_No, no, no!_ Tara flung her fists over her ears to blot out a sound that wasn't being made. She wanted Ron to meet her parents, her aunt, she wanted to go to college and smirk at all those dumb co-eds bragging about their rich, air-headed boyfriends while she smiled to herself, knowing that she had found the real thing. She wanted to walk down the aisle in a white silk dress and see him waiting at the end for her, to hear every one of the priest's words as he pronounced them Mr. and Mrs. Ron Stoppable.

She… she… just wanted him to be happy. As happy as he made her.

Tara's eyes flung open wide. Her hand shot in urgency for the lamp on her nightstand even as she desperately reached for the picture frame by her bedside. It was of her and Ron. It was honestly one of the ugliest pictures imaginable; just the two of them making obnoxious faces in front of the camera. Normally, it made her laugh every time that she saw it. Instead, she held it tightly to her chest and began crying.

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Tara couldn't look up from the dirt, unable to shake the feeling of camaraderie that she held with the vermin crawling through it as she waited patiently beneath the morning sun.

Patiently hell, she was a wreck. She had spent what felt like years trying to get her hair just right, to try and look presentable on the outside so she wouldn't feel like she was oozing with slime and filth on the inside. She wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible. Ron would show up, she'd do her thing, and then she would go home and cry herself to sleep, never to wake up again for another ten years. Piece of cake.

"Hey Tara." The joyful voice crying out to here from only a few feet down the sidewalk offered to lift her spirits from the dirt, but she kept them grounded as she looked up at him, a wide smile on his face that promised to sweep her cares away was met only with an impassive glance as he leaned in, planting a heart fluttering kiss on her cheek.

She felt her resolve wavering. She needed strength, but the only place she knew where to find it was right in front of her and she was about to forfeit any rights she had to his support. "Hi Ron."

Tara's voice sounded like it had been scrapped off the pavement, and obviously caught a cord with Ron.

"Tara, are you ok?" Ron's arms reached out to her shoulders, but she backed away.

_Get this over with. Quick and fast._ "Ron, I don't want to date you anymore."

Ron felt himself freeze in his tracks. His mind blocked out the last words that they had heard. "What?"

"I said we're over. Through. I'm leaving you." She couldn't look at him. She had no right to. She was dirt, scum and she deserved to feel like it to the bitter end.

"Tara… I don't understand. Yesterday…"

"What's there not for you to understand?" She shouted. She hated herself, she hated herself for ever being born and she lashed out in that fury at him. "I said we're done. We aren't dating anymore. It's that simple."

In spite of her hateful words, tears of pain rained down her cheek, inviting Ron's gentle hand closer to wipe them away. For a second, Tara felt them fall into his warm touch, but pushed back.

"Don't touch me!" Her face contorted in agony as she fell to the ground on her knees. "Don't touch me and don't look at me. Don't ever speak to me."

She couldn't stand, she could barely see straight. For a second, she saw Ron lean down, closer to her but she shied her face away again. "Tara, I don't understand. Was it something I did? Was it something I said? Just tell me please." He tried to reach out to her, his efforts for naught.

"Please Ron, just go. Please." She pleaded into her hands as she wept in them. She heard nothing else but the sound of her own sobs. She never knew how long Ron stayed by her, how long before he finally left, leaving her all alone, with her scum brethren crawling in the dirt.

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Ron lay over the couch of his tree house, his mind thinking of nothing. He had had time to be confused, in denial, to be outraged, to be heartbroken and now, having run through the full gambit of post-break up emotions, he felt… nothing. He just lay there, drained.

Rufus looked on worried at his human. It was one of those occasions where he wished humans were advanced enough to speak rodent.

"Hey." A soft voice called out from the entrance to the tree house. Ron looked over to see a familiar crimson mane and twin emerald irises looking at him sympathetically. "Your mom told me what happened."

"It's probably all over school by now." Ron tried, but he didn't even have the energy to be upset about the idea. He just turned his head back, gazing mindlessly towards the ceiling of the tree house. "Bonnie's probably giving Tara a big pat on the shoulder for finally 'coming to her senses' about me."

"Ron, you don't believe that. I know you don't." Kim approached the couch, kneeling down by his side.

"I should have known the whole thing was too good to be true. Beautiful cheerleader, popular, all the signs were there." Ron went on, slowly gaining force in his voice.

"Ron, don't believe that. I've known Tara for a little while and I've never seen her as happy as she was with you." Kim consoled, even as she immediately sensed Ron's response.

"Well then why did she do it?" He asked angrily. "She wouldn't tell me what I'd done wrong or if I even did anything wrong in the first place. It was just 'get lost, don't speak to me, good luck' only there was no 'good luck'!"

"Ron…"

"KP, be honest with me. What is it?" His question caught Kim off guard as he looked at her with desperate eyes. "Is it my hair, my jokes, my fashion, what? I'll change whatever it is, just tell me what it is girls don't like about me."

"Ron…" The tone in Ron's voice drew a horrified whisper from her.

"Is it my clothes? I can get new ones. I can buy that Club Banana stuff. It's pricey, but I'll do it if you think it will help." Ron offered with a faint trace of hope.

"Ron…"

"Or my hair! I can get more of that French goop. I mean the stuff actually smells pretty mean but if you think it'll impress the ladies…"

"Ron!" Kim finally caught his attention. He looked to her for answers she simply didn't have. "Ron, if you could change any one thing about me, what would it be?"

This time it was Ron's turn to be caught off guard. "You? KP, you're perfect." He insisted without thought. "I mean you're smart, you kick butt, you're pretty…"

Ron noticed the slight blush across Kim's cheeks, and suddenly found himself wandering dangerously close to awkweird territory.

"Uh, I mean you're, well yeah, you're pretty and… well you're perfect."

"You sure?" Kim asked with a knowing glance. "Cause I've been told I can be kinda bossy."

"Well, uh…" Ron felt an uneasy sweat begin to gather around his collar that he tried to vent.

"And sometimes, I can even be a little obsessed about my fashion."

"Yeah, well that's not too bad." Ron felt her gaze trapping him on the couch where he lay.

"Worst of all, I've even been known to lie." Kim insisted with mock horror.

"It was just that one time." Ron insisted.

"Come on Ron. All that stuff I mentioned, you sure you wouldn't change anything about me?" Kim pressed on deeper.

Ron needed less than a second to ponder. "No way KP. Perfect or not, I wouldn't have you any other way."

Kim just smiled as she leaned closer to him, her face less than an inch from his. "Exactly. So I'm afraid I can't help you Ron. If you want, I'm sure Monique might be able to offer some constructive criticism, and I'm sure if you're ever really in the mood for abuse, Bonnie has a long list for you… a really long list." She added snidely.

"Oh har har, mock my pain."

"But for me, I think you're perfect the way you are Ron Stoppable, and I wouldn't have you any other way."

Ron tried hard to fight the irrepressible smile that crawled across his face, but in the end it won out. "Thanks KP. You're the best." He felt his heart lighten as he felt her smile warm every fiber of his being.

"And I know you wouldn't want me any other way." She perfectly mirrored his own smile, somehow that warm glow that came from his face granting her an inner calm and peace that she felt she had somehow been missing for a while now.

"Well, if I could, I would try to get rid of that snore of yours." He added playfully.

"I do not snore!" Kim shouted back at him in moderate irritancy.

"Well, whenever you are really beat and you haven't slept in a while, then you kinda do."

"I so do not." She insisted.

"Sound's like a truck backfiring." Ron joked.

"Ron!"

"And there's a choking squirrel in the engine."

"Shut up!" Kim pounced on top of him, her fingers moving for his tender side spots, tickling him with a righteous fury. The two shared in laughter well into the evening.

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"It finally happened." Joyous realization dawned on Bonnie Rockwaller as she looked at the latest couple to arrive at the Prom. It was true. Sweet, merciful providence it was true. "She's dating that loser. Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable are dating!" Bonnie cried out with wicked delight, letting out a slight cackle even at the prospect.

For a second, all eyes turned to the pair who had indeed entered the extravagantly redecorated prom hand in hand, silent as a grave.

Then, all at once, a thunderous applause erupted from the audience of onlookers. The entire gymnasium shouted cheers of support and encouragement even as Kim and Ron looked anxiously at one another before turning aside in brief uncertainty.

From afar in the gym, Tara watched with satisfaction as Rufus leapt out of his resting place in Ron's pocket and gave a strong push on Ron's leg, pressing him slightly into Kim before rushing around to Kim's leg and doing the same.

A soft song began playing and Tara felt her date's hand on her shoulder, pulling her in for a dance. "We did it."

Tara just smiled at Josh, even as her head fell onto his shoulder to rest peacefully. "Yeah, we did."

The dance went on, couples ducking in and out of the dance floor, even as Ron and Kim seemed frozen in the center of the room together. Tara felt a great peace within her as she watched them from within Josh's arms. She wanted to freeze this one moment in time and hold on to it forever. Instead, she opted for some punch.

She felt herself reach the table and pour some of the red liquid from the bowl into one of the paper cups provided when a voice from behind startled her.

"Hey Tara."

Tara practically jumped when she saw who it was.

"Oh, hey Kim." She replied with a slight apprehensiveness. "How's your prom going?"

"Spankin'," Kim answered with an irrepressible glow. "How are you and Josh doing?"

Tara just smiled as she glanced off to her handsome date still waiting for her. "Spanking."

An awkward silence lasted between them for a second before Kim decided to cut to the chase.

"Tara, I know."

Tara's brow sharpened in confusion. "You know what?"

"About you and Josh. Two months ago…" Kim let her words hang for a second for affect.

"You-you do?" Tara felt her chest seize tightly.

"Well, it took me a while." Kim admitted modestly. "Honestly, when you broke up with Ron and Josh broke up with me, I really thought it was just rotten coincidence. Then, I started to think that it was probably just because the two of you wanted to date without me or Ron around, but that didn't really make sense either. Cause maybe Josh might have wanted to not date me but there was no way you didn't want to be with Ron. I saw the two of you together. Then, it just all clicked."

Tara felt like a criminal caught in the act. "Have you told Ron?"

"No," she replied neutrally.

"Do…" Tara stopped herself to regain her composure before barely whispering her next question "Does he hate me?"

"No," Kim replied with a smile. "I think he was angry with you for a little while, but he doesn't hate you. Honestly, I think he just misses you."

"Oh," Tara replied softly, even as she resisted the urge to look over to the dance floor to see if Ron was still there.

"Tara," Kim began "I owe you more than I will ever be able to repay. What you two did… I honestly don't know I could have done the same thing in your position."

Tara finally looked over to the dance floor. She couldn't be restrained any longer. She saw Ron standing there, apparently talking with Felix. As she looked at him, a wide smile spread across her face. "Kim, if you really think you owe me, then you'll take care of him."

"Always," Kim answered back immediately. "You know, I'm sure he'd love a dance… if you wouldn't mind, of course."

Tara looked back at Kim, resisting the urge to jump in shock. "I… I really shouldn't leave Josh all…"

Kim cut in. "I'll watch after Josh. Truthfully, I'd like the chance to catch up with him."

"Really?" Tara asked hopefully.

"Well, if you don't mind me dancing with your boyfriend, I can't say I mind you dancing with mine," Kim replied with a wide grin.

"You just know it all tonight, don't you?" Tara asked with a moderately annoyed look.

"It's part of the job." Kim answered as she walked off towards Josh. Tara took another deep breath before she looked over again. This time, Ron's deep brown eyes met hers directly. She felt herself freeze again, but only for a second as she walked out towards the dance floor, towards him.


End file.
